NFL Exec Doesn’t Expect Many Rule Changes for 2026, Latest News on Tush Push, Replay, More

The NFL competition committee is meeting over the next few days to discuss potential changes for the 2026 season and beyond, but it doesn’t sound like any major differences are coming soon.

Rich McKay, the chair of the competition committee, told NFL Network’s Judy Battista that he doesn’t expect this to be a big year for rule proposals, saying, “The game is in a good place.”

Battista noted that among the topics discussed on Sunday were the Tush Push, replay rules, catch rules, special teams rules and disqualifications.

However, a rule change might not be coming on the Tush Push:

Last offseason, the proposal to ban the Tush Push received 22 votes, falling just short of the 24 votes needed to pass the rule change. Former Green Bay Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy led the charge in trying to get the play banned, but his retirement last July left a major void in the quest to remove the controversial play from the NFL.

Regarding catch/no catch rules, Battista explained that the competition committee’s conversation centered around “the need for the rules to reflect not only how the play looks live but how it looks on replay, with technology offering the ability to go frame by frame through the play.”

Special teams coaches were on hand to speak with the competition committee about how to further prevent the occurrence of concussions on kickoffs. Also, McKay told Battista that while there weren’t any discussions about alternatives to onside kicks like a fourth-and-15 play, he “believes there’s a conversation to be had.”

Battista noted that replay review is on the agenda for the competition committee for Monday’s meeting, including the “potential use of replay to put a flag on the field that was not originally called by game officials.”

The NFL is constantly searching for ways to make the game better, so it will be interesting to see what improvements are made following the meetings this winter.